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Iran's 2018 prisoner swap proposal to the United States
Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif proposed a prisoner exchange with the United States government in October 2018. As of April 28, 2019, the proposal has remained without an answer from the U.S. government. Zarif spoke of the proposed prisoner exchange between Iran and the U.S. during an interview with CBS News. He commented that the U.S. government must prove its seriousness before any negotiations commence. 's foreign minister Javad Zarif spoke about prisoner exchange negotiations between Iran and the USA.]] Over many years, Iran and the United States have arrested one other's citizens for numerous reasons. For instance, Iran has detained Americans on charges of spying and subversion, and the United States has arrested Iranians with dual citizenships in the U.S. or other countries for violating American sanctions against Iran. Iranian officials have previously stated that the number of Iranian prisoners in the U.S. is at least a dozen or more. Zarif said he was willing to swap British-Iranian aid worker, Nazanin Zaghari, who has been detained in Iran since 2016, because of an Iranian woman detained in Australia for the past three years on a U.S. extradition request. Negar Ghodskani was captured in Australia and gave birth to a child in prison. "We have people with heart conditions. We have people with terminal cancer in there (prison)." Zarif stated, "let's exchange prisoners without any kind of guilt and help them to go back home. The United States cannot play a moral role when negotiate about prisoners start with Iran. Iran has already received a letter from Robert O'Brien, the US special envoy for Hostage Affairs, which requests their prisoner's release, but the request was dismissed, because of O'Brien’s lower diplomatic rank at that time. Zarif was referring to statements such as a State Department spokesperson telling The Hill News agency, "We call on Iran to free all U.S. prisoners, including Xiyue Wang, Robert Levinson, Siamak Namazi, and Nizar Zakka. One of the four has been missing for 12 years. According to Reuters News agency, Zarif was proposing “a serious dialogue” with the United States on a possible prisoner swap. He said, Iran has responded to a possible offer that the U.S. made about prisoner exchange about six month ago, but hasn't received any reply yet. Zarif said, "There are many Iranian who detained in the United States for phony charges, also the United States has repeated our claim about his prisoners in Iran, too. The exchange offer that I made was about all prisoners who have been detained in the United States or elsewhere in the world by American request. Let's have only a prisoner exchange and don't speak about that claim." Zarif, in an interview with CBS News agency host Margaret Brennan, said, before prisoner exchange negotiations between Iran and the United States, United States must prove that it is serious because otherwise it is all talk. When Brennan asked Zarif about How Iran will show its seriousness and whether Iran was ready to release five Americans who are incarcerated in Iran, Zarif said, Iran never need to show its seriousness because they have shown their seriousness by implementing the nuclear deal. The United States has shown that when they speak about something it is to refresh public concern of a problem, without intending to make the difficult decisions to remedy it. It's the first time that Zarif had made a proposal to U.S. government openly after Trump presidency and worsening relationship between the two countries since 2016. According to the Time news agency, If a new prisoner exchange occurs, it could follow the 2016 example, which the Washington Post's Iran bureau chief Jason Rezaian, released as part of an exchange and U.S. agreed to free seven Iranians held on sanctions-related charges. Reactions A State Department spokesperson told The Hill News agency, If the Iranian government is really serious, so releasing "innocent U.S. persons. However two countries had been consular issues, but after that Iranian released U.S. prisoners, we will work on releasing Iranians who have been indicted or convicted of criminal violations of US sanctions laws." Xiyue Wang's wife, Hua Qu, said in an email, “My husband did nothing wrong or illegal and I would encourage all governments to come together so he can be released and come home to us." A spokesman for Michael R.White's family, Jonathan Franks, said that he did not have enough information to comment on Iranian Foreign Minister proposal, Zarif, but we will think in the United States to choose reasonable step that shall cause Michael's release.” Robert Levinson’s relatives, who disappeared in Iran and the Iranian government have never accepted the Robert Levinson disappeared responsibility, responded to Zarif’s proposal, “We like to see our father at home after 12 years and we hope each side help us. Nobody know where is our father, please let solve this issue forever.” See also *Prisoner exchange *Extradition *Arab–Byzantine prisoner exchanges *List of Israeli prisoner exchanges *Humanitarian exchange *Negotiation *Jalal Haji Zawar References Exchange Category:Prisoner exchanges Category:Negotiation Category:Foreign ministers of Iran Category:Iranian diplomats Category:Iranian nuclear negotiators State Department Category:Foreign relations Category:United States Category:Iran Category:2018 Category:Global politics